The Wolf Prince
by gabrielle-123
Summary: There are two princes battling for the throne of the kingdom of Hyrule, and one of them is Link. However, he doesn't seemed to remember anything and is up to five kokiri children to help him Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day in the Kokiri village. The sun shone down on it with a pleasant gleam and the wind danced among the grass playfully; it

was the perfect day to be outside, forfeit work and enjoy the nice weather. But for them, it was a completely boring day.

They were a group of four friends who, for the time being, were sitting on the grass under the shade of a tree trying to find something to do,

the fairies had gone to the Deku tree for a meeting between them to which they couldn't participate, something about it being part of the 'fairy

culture', so they couldn't join them. Maddie, a beautiful girl with hazel eyes and blond hair, was calling a couple of sparrows in her mind to

come down from the trees and dance in front of her. It was a talent she had, for all the kokiri children had special, supernatural talents, and

hers was to communicate with the birds and bend them to her will. Her sister Leah had the same talent, but she was younger than her and

thus had more trouble connecting with the birds. She was obstinately trying to call to her a group of doves from the nearby brook, but was so

far unsuccessful. The stubborn birds would simply look at her and then ignore her, making funny noises between themselves as if laughing at

the girl. Saria was laying down the grass, looking at the clouds and caressing the grass; she enjoyed the pulsating feeling she got from the

plants. With her green hair and calm demeanour, she was easily pointed out as a plant kokiri: she could control plants and make them grow

out of nowhere. It was a hard talent that demanded a lot of concentration, for plants were very different from people and animals, and their

thought process was so quiet it was easy to miss. Mido was the only one who didn't seem to posses any talents, he only seemed to be

supernaturally grumpy, and that came naturally to him. It bothered him greatly not to have a special talent, and for the time being he showed

his frustration by mumbling to himself now and then. No one noticed him, though, because they were all accustomed to his constant angry

mumbling.

They all stayed there, happy for a moment but as the minutes dragged by, they found their laziness absolutely boring.

"I wish there was something to do!" Leah suddenly said. She had given up calling the doves that would simply coo at her and then ignore her. All the shops had being closed for the day so they couldn't go to work, and the Kokiri village was such a tranquil place that nothing exciting ever happened. That is, until that very moment.

"Guys! Hey guys!"

They all turned to the voice of a running kokiri girl. She was the youngest in the village, and her skin was the darkest too, her eyes were a bright blue though, a clear contrast that set her apart. She was running toward them with a sense of urgency that was hard to miss.

"What's wrong, Mihn?" Saria asked her. She regarded the girl as a sister; they all did, she was so small and seemed so fragile that they all felt a strong sense of protection toward her. Even Mido felt that way, more so because she seemed to have no special talent, just like him.

"I—I did something," she stuttered as she struggle to draw breath from all her running. She was so scared she was close to tears. She collapsed on her knees, trembling.

Maddie approached her quickly and gently put her hand on her shoulder worried. They had never seen her in such a state of panic.

"What happened? What did you do?" she asked her.

"I—I was walking through the garden behind my house, daydreaming as always am, but an annoying bug was molesting me, and as I tried to shoo him away and waved my arm down, I felt as if my fingers had ripped something, and a strange, black tear appeared in front of me as if I had ripped the air and it pulled at me," she shuddered "I ran here immediately. What have I done? Was it wrong? Did I really tear the air? But how is that possible?"

"Calm down Mihn, we'll figure it out," Saria said calmly, trying not to show her nervousness "take us to the exact spot where it happened."

The young girl took the four friends, who were secretly excited at the unexpected event, to her garden. However, when they arrived there, there was no strangeness in the air.

"I think your daydreaming went a bit far, girl. You have to be careful not to confuse dreams with reality," Mido said, his hands drawn up against his neck casually.

"I did not make it up!" she replied angrily "it really happened!"

Saria stood in deep thought for a moment. "Do exactly what you did, Minh, before the black tear appeared." She finally said.

Mihn nodded and walked towards where she had being standing before the accident happened. She did nothing for a few seconds, scared that of the dark tear but at the same time fearing it wouldn't appear. In resolve, she drew her right arm up and then straight down. They all jumped back when a physical tear of the air appeared.

"I—I told you so!" Mihn said, her voice trembling again in fear. She had run to stand behind Leah when she felt the pull.

"Mihn," Saria said in awe "you just opened a portal!"

"A portal?" Maddie asked surprised "Is that even possible? I thought wizards were the only ones who could do that!"

"Indeed, this is surprising!" Saria exclaimed. She didn't look frightened or nervous, a bright smile graced her lips. "My goodness, a portal tamer among the kokiri! This is truly amazing,"

"A portal tamer? What's that? What's a portal anyways?" Mihn asked confused, grabbing Leah's tunic nervously.

"A portal tamer is what you are, Mihn," Saria answered happily "portals are like doors that can take you to far away places. But they are doors not constructed by physical hands, they are all around us but we can't see them or even open them, only powerful wizards can. And you, my Mihn, are the only Kokiri in all our history to be able to do such a thing."

Mihn wasn't sure of Saria's smile, she was still scared of what she had done. "Is that good or bad?"

"It's brilliant!" Leah said, smiling at the little girl "It means that you are very powerful, Mihn."

"I don't see what's the big deal," Mido suddenly said grumpily. He was very surprised at Mihn's deed, even proud if he only cared to admit it, but he felt utterly betrayed. She was the only person who seemed to be able to understand his lack of special talent, and then abruptly she acquired one.

"The big deal, Mr. Rock-head, is that Mihn can open a portal to wherever she wants," Leah said.

"So what? We never leave our village, the outer world is too dangerous for us, so her talent is useless among us."

"Oh, would you ever stop being so pessimistic all the time? You're always so depressing," Maddie said angrily, she was tired of hearing his constant complains and negative comments.

"We should check were the portal leads to!" Leah said enthusiastically, excited to have something thrilling to do at last.

"No! We must report this first, who knows where her portal will take us," Maddie replied.

"Would you relax!" Leah turned to Saria "What do you say? Is it dangerous to enter her portal?"

"I doubt it," she answered in confidence "she's still inexperienced so she's not powerful enough to take us out of kokiri village, it will probably take us somewhere around her house."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!"

No one could deny that they were curious about the portal and wanted to be the first ones to try Mihn's abilities. Even Mihn herself agreed to enter the portal, wanting to know where it would lead them.

"Mihn, you must be the last to enter," Saria explained "as soon as you go through it the portal will close,"

"Why did it close last time?" Mihn asked.

"You went too far from it, when a portal tamer opens one and walks away from it, it automatically closes."

"What are we waiting for?" Leah asked eagerly "Let's go!"

Saria, the oldest, went first, followed by Mido, then Maddie went followed by Leah and, finally, Mihn entered her own creation and the portal closed.

Little did they know that Mihn was even more powerful than they had first thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your comment! It made me really happy :) I hope you guys like how the story continues**

* * *

They appeared in a dark forest. Wild vegetation covered the ground and tall, skinny pine trees loomed all around them; a mist flowed between

their branches, creating an eerie atmosphere.

"Where are we?" Mihn asked nervously, holding onto Leah's tunic again.

"This is not kokiri village," Mido said tensely, he didn't like the dark ravens flying over them.

"Mihn, what were you thinking about when you opened the portal the first time?"

"I was thinking of the story of the wolf that Ran always tells," she answered. Ran, like Saria, was also a plant kokiri who loved to invent

stories.

"Who are you?"

They all turned to find a boy standing near them. He was slightly taller than Saria, who was the tallest of the five, and had blond hair and

blond eyebrows that outlined clear blue eyes. He had pointed ears like them, but he was not one of them. He stood straight and wore strange

clothes of a soft, black fabric they didn't recognize. A blue pendant graced his brow. His presence reeked of a power they didn't now, and Saria

and Mido poised in a prepared stance to protect the younger girls.

"You appeared out of nowhere, how did you do that?" the boy asked.

"Who are you?" Mido returned the question. "Do you mean us harm?"

The boy looked confused at the question. "No, I am merely curious. My name is Link, or at least that's what they tell me."

"Where are we?" Saria asked. She felt unnerved at his handsome appearance.

"This is the kingdom of Hyrule, ruled by the wolf prince."

"_Wolf_ prince!?" Maddie exclaimed appalled "we must go back to kokiri village! Mihn take us back now!"

"Shh!" Link held his hand up for a moment, demanding their silence, and looked to the distance at his right side with concentration. He turned

to them again with a serious expression "They're coming, please don't move."

He met Saria's eyes, and she felt something pulling at her, as if her power was being called. And that's exactly what was happening, for

suddenly plants began to appear out of nowhere and covered them.

_'How did he do that?'_ Saria wondered, terrified that her power had being manipulated from her so easily by a complete strange. _'Who is he _

_really?'_

"Stay very still and they'll think you're just trees. But I can't hide your presence if you make any kind of noise, so please remain quiet." Link

said in a whisper.

Who are they? The five of them wondered.

They didn't have to wonder for too long, for at that moment they could hear the sound of several people running toward them at great speed.

Three strange women were approaching Link, they were all unique in their appearances: the first had long, red hair braided to her side and

wide, strangely vivid green eyes; she was dressed in a beautiful light blue shirt with a darker corset and her baggy dark pants were made of a

fabric that made them flow with the wind. The second woman had also long hair, but hers was as dark as ebony and her eyes were an icy

blue. She was dressed in a similar outfit but hers were of an ocean blue color. The third woman had short, blond hair that was shortest at her

back neck and longest at the sides. Her dark eyes looked around her with arrogance and intelligence and her outfit was completely white. The

three of them stopped in front of Link who stood as if he hadn't just had an encounter with five particular people.

The five kokiri children almost flinched when the woman with the blond, short hair slapped Link so hard he took an involuntary step back, but

they were wise enough not to do the slightest movement.

"What aren't you inside the castle?" she demanded angrily.

Link turned to her, refusing to show the pain inflicted by the slap and straightening himself to stand with dignity. "I was not aware that I was

confined to the castle." he simply said indifferently.

"I am sick and tired of your attitude! You are always the same no matter how many times we take your m—"

"Oris!" the woman with the red hair reprimanded her. She went closer to Link, trying to intimidate him with her looming presence, but Link

would not change his dignified posture. She frowned at him, trying not to give in to her frustration, how could he not feel threatened by her

presence? Even the strongest soldier in the castle knew to respect her. "You are now aware that you cannot leave the castle," she said to

him. "Go back."

"I will go back in a moment," he answered in a flat tone.

"I will not suffer your impertinence, you will go back now."

However, Link did not move. He had no desire to go back to the cold, tall walls of the castle and was curious to know more about the five

weird people he had found. Oris had had enough of his indifferent, disrespectful attitude, and in a flash she had him pinned against a tree.

"Don't push it boy, if I had my way I would have taken your life long ago, count yourself lucky that Prince Ganondorf is a merciful lord." she said

against his face.

Link then did something he hadn't dared to do in front of them: he used his power. For some reason, he couldn't do it while in the castle, and

now that he was about to he felt momentarily afraid that it would fail him. However, he was relieved when he felt himself sliding out of his

body and into the tree. His body then became a marionette he could control. Unaware of what had happened, Oris let go of the boy, who felt

on the ground and for some strange reason struggled for a moment to stand up. When he finally did, he walked pass them toward the castle.

"I can never tell what that he's thinking," Lune, the woman with the black hair, said pensively "and I don't like it." They followed him.

When they were a good distance away from him, Link slid out of the tree and ended his spell on the Kokiri children. They all felt unnerved at

what had happened, and more so when there now seemed to be two Links: the one who left and the one who stood before them

transparently, as if he was a ghost.

"I can't retain this form for too long, so we must talk quickly" Link said "where do you come from? Who are you?"

"We are called the Kokiri children," Saria began. She wasn't sure she would be able to lie to the powerful boy standing in front of her, but she

refused to tell the absolute truth. "My name is Saria, and these are Maddie, Mido, Mihn and Leah. We were dragged into a portal and brought

here."

"Who were those women?" Mido asked, afraid of them and of Link's magical abilities.

"They are the guardians, spies and counselors of the king, but I don't trust them," he suddenly shut his eyes and grabbed his head as if in

pain, his ghostly presence faltered slightly. After a few seconds, he straightened, but looked weary. "I don't understand many things, my

thoughts are lost in a sea of blankness, I can't remember anything. But if I do know something for certain, and that's that I can't trust those

women nor the king."

The ravens above them cawed. They looked viciously at the children below them.

"I don't like those birds," Mido said, hunching slightly.

Maddie reached out to them in her mind to know what their intentions were, but a wall as strong as iron met her attempts, and the ebony birds

sent a mental wave of pain to the girl, who cried out and fainted. Saria reached out to her before she met the ground, and laid her gently on

the grass.

"Maddie!" Leah exclaimed worried, kneeling beside her sister.

"What happened to her?" Mido asked Link.

"I don't know," he answered confused, unaware of the tone of accusation in Mido's voice. "What was she doing?" He had felt a stream of

magic leaving her, but wasn't sure what she had done to herself.

"She was mentally reaching for the birds," Leah explained before Saria could stop her. "Normally she can control them with her mind, I don't

know what went wrong, this has never happened to her before," she looked at her sister anxiously.

Link looked up to the malevolent birds, curious to see if he could do what the girl had attempted. He met the eyes of the biggest raven, they

were as dark as a hollow pit, and a strange blurry image of a big, black beast met his mind painfully. He shut his eyes immediately and

grabbed his head again, hating the sharp stabs of pain he kept having inside his skull. When he calmed down, he met the wary eyes of the

Kokiri children.

"Those aren't birds," he said "I don't know what they are, but it'd be wise if she doesn't attempt that again."

"Who are you really?" Saria asked.

He smiled wearily "I wish I knew," his ghostly image faltered again. "They're nearing the walls," he murmured to himself looking disappointed.

"I have to go," he stood up and prepared himself to go back to his physical body. Before leaving, he turned to the Kokiri children who were

surprised to see that his eyes took a sudden pleading expression. However, his voice didn't reflect the desperation he felt.

"If you wish to know what's going on in Hyrule's realm, wear these," he tore part of the seam of his shirt and ripped it in five pieces, he closed

his eyes for a moment and turned them to bracelets. "These will conceal your presence." He handed them to Saria. With that, he nodded to

each one of them goodbye and vanished, letting the pull he felt from his far away physical body take him to it.

The four Kokiri children stood in silence, each wondering what exactly had happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Maddie struggled to open her eyes, and when she finally did it took her a while to focus her vision. She felt a frightful headache coming.

"Maddie!" Leah cried out relieved. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she answered, sitting up with difficulty. "I-I don't know what happened," she then

noticed that the boy was missing. "Where is he? What's his name again, Link?"

"He left, I think," Leah said, they were all confused at how he had done it. "I think we should go now, I don't want to stay in this creepy place

anymore."

"Yes, I agree," Saria said. She felt haunted by the boy's mysterious, beautiful blue eyes "Mihn, please make the portal again, and when you're

at it you must think strongly of home."

Mihn had been quiet ever since they had arrived to the strange place. She had never thought that such a cold, dark and utterly terrifying place

could exist. When she first saw the boy, she let go of Leah's tunic. For some reason he didn't scare her, on the contrary he made her feel safe,

as if they had been meant to meet. When the three women appeared, she felt completely repulsed, their very presence reeked of malice and

hostility. When the blond one struck him, she was filled with a rage she had never experienced before.

"He asked for our help," she suddenly said. They looked at her surprised, for the girl who always looked like a scared mouse looked brave all

of a sudden. "We can't leave, we have to know what's going on here."

"What? Did he put a spell on your something?" Mido asked angrily "whatever is going on here is none of our concern! Now hurry up with the

portal already!"

"He asked for our help!" she replied more firmly "We cannot leave!"

"Mihn, just because you have a special talent doesn't make you invincible. You're a baby for crying out loud! You don't know anything at all, so

it'd be good for your own sake to listen to me!"

"Just because we are all different from you doesn't mean you have to treat us like trash," as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a

tremendous guilt building up inside her, but the urgency of the situation stopped her from apologizing. "Listen to me, Mido," she pleaded,

hoping he could one day forgive her for her harsh words "I don't know exactly how or why, but I know we are meant to help him. Let us at

least see what's going on in the castle, with the bracelets it should be safe to do it."

Mido was speechless. He turned his back on her and tried to swallow pass the lump in his throat. He would have never thought she could hurt

him so.

"Perhaps the plants can help us understand," Saria said quietly, trying to be the peacemaker, and approached one of the tall, skinny pine

trees. For a moment she was afraid she would receive the same treatment Maddie got from the birds, but resolve pushed away her fear and

she gently touched the trees' course bark with both of her hands, fingers spread wide, and closed her eyes. The others remained silent,

knowing that she needed all the concentration she could get.

Images met her mind... she saw a desolated place, and dreams of a time when things had been better. She felt an inward groan from the

inside of the tree as this one cried for the loss of that time. There was treachery in the land, every plant feared the presence of the Wolf

Prince, but there was hope among the darkness, hope in the shape of someone who had been born out of greatness, but who was trapped in

the hands of the prince. Would she help him?

The question burned in her mind and the ancient tree asked her again, pleading with the blood pulsating in her veins:

_Would she help them?_

"There's innocent blood spilled on the ground all over the realm," she said to the others "the least we can do is see what's going on inside the

castle."

Leah and Maddie nodded reluctantly while Mihn took the bracelets Saria had left on the ground.

"Let's go then, there's no time to waste," she said firmly while she gave each one of them a bracelet. She didn't meet Mido's hurtful eyes.

"Whatever happens, we can't get separated," Saria warned "Mihn you're not to create a portal while we are inside the castle, do you

understand? By no means create one, we don't want unwanted guests in Kokiri forest."

"Yes, I understand," the little girl nodded.

They all looked at each other uncertain if the bracelets would really work. Mihn took the initiative and put hers on. She immediately vanished

from their sight.

"Mihn!" Maddie called out worried.

"I'm still here you dummy!" Mihn giggled "Wow, they really do work. How are we going to see each other though?"

Saria put her bracelet on and was relieved to see the blurry form of Mihn.

"Come on guys! Put them on," she said calmly to the three solid forms of her friends. Reluctantly, they did.

"They went that way," Mihn pointed decisively to where the three women had left.

"Yes, and I know the exact location of the castle," Saria added. She had seen it while communicating with the tree.

"Are you sure this is ok?" Mido suddenly asked, he had a strange solemn expression on his face. "What if this plan backfire us like the portal

did?"

Mihn pushed away her guilt for a moment and approached Mido. She gently put her hands on each of his cheeks and approached his face

close to hers "We can do this, Mido, we have to do it. We'll be alright."

He turned his face away from hers and withdrew from her touch. She had hurt him in more ways than she would ever know.

"Let's go," Saria said before she could change her mind.

They started walking slowly, all of them afraid and uncertain of what they were doing, except for Mihn who was at the head of the group,

walking with a certainty she had never felt before. But the forest was extremely quiet, and its solemn silence brought shivers down her arms;

with the shivers, fear started creeping into her heart, and with the fear doubts and questions haunted her mind: what was she doing here?

Could she be wrong? What if she was leading the others straight to danger?

Suddenly, her face became clammy and sweat appeared on her brow, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. She turned to the

others, they looked as paled as she was.

"There's something approaching," Leah whispered, trembling.

"Come guys," Saria, always trying to be the calm in the storm, said quietly, motioning to them to get closer to her. They knelt on the ground,

trying to blend in with the wild vegetation, and waited as quiet as statues, their hearts pounding like drums.

The pulsating sensation of the grass slowed beneath Saria's legs, and the forest became even quieter than before, as if every plant had died.

In the dreadful stillness that followed, they would all have welcomed the cawing of the vicious ravens to break the silence.

They heard it then, the crushing of branches under someone's heavy step, and then they saw it in the distance: a black wolf, almost twice as

big as the normal beast, so skinny it was easy to see its protruding ribs. They held their breath as the beast passed by, and when the animal

was finally far away, the forest seemed to release a sight.

"I hope we won't find anymore of those," Mido said, breaking the silence.

"We better hurry," Saria replied.

They kept walking through the forest faster than before, fearing what might be behind them and cautious of what lay ahead.


	4. Chapter 4

After about twenty minutes of walking, they could finally see the last line of trees that gave way to a wide field. What the field lacked in trees,

it compensated in tall, strange objects hundreds of men were working on. The five Kokiri children couldn't make heads or tails of what they

were building because they had never seen the instruments of war, for what the men were building were several catapults the Wolf Prince

had ordered.

"This is our chance," Saria said, pointing at the bridge of a large wall that would lead them to the castle. With the men and soldiers coming and

going through it, she was sure no one would notice their shadows, or at least she hoped no one would.

They hurried through the field with enough distance between them and the men as to not get accidentally bumped and discovered. When they

were near the bridge, they walked behind a cart and walked through it without a problem.

"We have go to the opposite side of a market and then up a path," Saria explained, there was no need for her to whisper, there was so much

noise going around them that no one would notice her speaking. When they arrived to the market, they were shocked at the sight: it was a

destitute place. Barefoot, skinny children wandered around hunched as if they had lost their meaning of life, their clothes were tattered and

covered with filth; they looked so dirty it would not be a surprise if flies started to follow them. Old men and women sat against the wall of a

store, unmoving as if they were dead. The empty look in the eyes of the exhausted men that followed the soldiers' orders was terrifying. Every

building looked as if it was ready to collapse.

The Kokiri children went through the market as quickly as they could, face down, not being able to bear the sight. They were grateful that the

pathway toward the castle was empty.

"This place is dead!" Leah said repulsed "Is like their lives had been suck out of each person,"

"No wonder we are not allowed to leave Kokiri village," Mido added.

"It really is appalling," Mihn whispered, she had shivers running down her arms. She had been clutching Saria's tunic the whole time.

"We can leave, you know? We've seen enough," Maddie said. She was trembling inside, the mental attack of the ravens and the sight of so

much suffering was too much for her. "You could do a portal right here and no one would notice."

Mihn felt tempted to do just that. Where they really meant to be there? She remembered the boy's mysterious eyes and knew that she had to

find him before leaving.

"Come on guys, we said we were going to see what's going on inside the castle and we're not even there yet," Saria said, trying to cheer up

the group. In truth, she wanted to have nothing more to do with the strange, awful place, but the plead of the ancient tree kept coming back

to her mind. She couldn't call herself a plant Kokiri if she wasn't willing to answer to their cry of help.

They kept walking along the path almost unwillingly, afraid of what else they would find, until the path turned right and they could see a gate

ahead with a soldier guarding it.

"Well, it seems this is it," Mido sighed, relieved.

"No, we can climb this wall," Saria looked up at the looming wall beside them. She walked back to before the path turned right and knelt down.

Touching the ground below her, she closed her eyes and made vines grow on the wall until they reached the ledge.

"Oh great," Mido grunted.

Saria climbed first, showing them where to put their feet to make the climbing easier. Maddie went second, trying to follow Saria's directions,

but because of her headache her feet were unstable and her arms were weak. As she reached the ledge, she miscalculated her step and her

right foot met air. She felt herself falling with a strangled cry.

"Who's there?" the soldier at the gate called out. He took a few steps away from his post and called out again. He had heard a distinct cry, but

couldn't see anyone.

"Are you two alright?" Saria asked in a whisper after the soldier had returned to his post. Maddie had fallen on top of Mido who, lucky for her,

had cushioned her fall.

"Yeah," Maddie replied, struggling to stand up "sorry, Mido," she held out her hand for him.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Mido said, shaking the dust from his clothes "none of this is, we really should leave."

"You guys leave," Mihn said stubbornly "I'll make the portal for you, but I'm staying here."

"Why are you making things so difficult? Don't you get it Mihn, we don't belong here," Mido retorted, without looking at her.

"He's right you know," Leah said "we're not ready for this." She suddenly wished they could go back to their boring afternoon.

"We're so close though," Maddie sighed.

Saria descended her vines and looked at each of her friends. "You guys go, I'll stay with Mihn."

"But Saria-"

"Listen to me," she interrupted Maddie "you're not feeling well, are you? I can tell."

Maddie looked down at the ground, her head was pounding painfully.

"And it's not fair for you two to stay here when you don't want to," Saria turned to Mido and Leah "I can stay with Mihn, we'll be fine, you can

go to the Deku tree and inform him what we have found."

They nodded reluctantly at leaving them there, but at the same time relieved that they could finally leave the place.

Saria walked a few feet further away from the gate.

"Mihn, do your portal here against the wall," she said "and remember, you need to think strongly of home as you do it. Guys, you need to

leave quickly, I don't think they'll notice but I don't want to take any chances."

Mihn made the portal, closing her eyes to better visualize her far away home.

"Go!" Saria said and Maddie, Leah and Mido quickly disappeared.

"Come Mihn!" Saria took Mihn by the hand and they trotted away from the portal. It closed and vanished as soon as its maker left it.

"Let's now go to the cast-"

She was interrupted by a commotion in the sky. Ravens were flying from the direction of the forest to the castle, cawing like lunatic birds. They

went round and round up in the sky where the two girls were standing, and then they flew towards the castle.

"Is it possible? Could they have sensed what you did?" Saria asked herself troubled, holding a trembling Mihn in her arms. "I wonder what

those birds really are."

"The gate!" Mihn pointed. The gate was opening to let a group of about fifty soldiers go trough.

"Be still Mihn!" Saria said, backing against the wall. She knew they couldn't climb the vines as the soldiers might notice their movements.

"B-but they might be looking for us," Mihn said, wriggling within Saria's grasp, wanting to run as far away as she could from the spiteful looking

men marching toward them.

"Be still! They can't see us silly!" She held her firmly, begging her to stop moving. _And here I thought she was becoming tough!_ She

thought angrily.

"Those are-those are wolves!" Mihn cried out.

Three black wolves were running toward the gate.

Without loosing a beat, Saria ran with Mihn back to the vines and held held high up for her to grasp the furthest branch she could. "Climb

Mihn! Climb!"

The wolves were nearing. Saria started climbing as fast as she could until she was safely up on the ledge with Mihn. However, they didn't have

time to catch their breaths for the wolves stopped at the bottom of where they had been and started howling at them, while several soldiers

were pointing at the vines confused.

"Come on Mihn, hurry!" Saria grabbed her small hand and they started running as fast as they could towards the stone arch of the gate. _With _

_the size of those wolves, I wouldn't be surprised if they could jump to the ledge_, Saria thought nervously.

"Saria!" Mihn was close to tears, while Saria was trying to think quickly for a solution to their problem, but the only thing they could do is run.

They ran across the stone arch and through a small field that preceded the looming castle.

Her fear came true when she heard the wolves running behind them. _We are done for_, Saria thought, _this was _not_ a good idea._

There was no other option.

"Mihn make a port-"

"Stop!"

The wolves suddenly stopped on their tracks. Saria looked up at the castle recognizing the voice: Link was leaning out on one of the windows,

looking worried and surprised at the wolves.

He had heard the commotion from his room. He had been laying on his bed thinking of the Kokiri children when he heard ravens cawing.

Confused, he stood up and went to his window, and looked up at the sky when a group of soldiers began pouring out of the castle, and then

the wolves appeared.

"What are they looking for?" he wondered. He lost sight of the wolves as they went through the gate, and then he heard them howling. He

saw them jumping on the ledge and running as if chasing something.

"What are they-" and then Link's face paled. Could it be? Could it be that the Kokiri children had decided to answer his plead? And now they

would probably die because of his stupidity. The wolves were running through the field, most likely a few seconds away from their prey.

"Stop!" he yelled desperately, hoping against hope that he could save them. To his utter surprise, the wolves stopped and looked up at him

as if waiting for further commands. _How did I do that?_ Link asked himself in shock, _Is it a spell? It can't be, I can't use magic here._

* * *

**I feel like that this chapter is a bit rough. I apologize for all the spellings I might have made, English is not my first language so I'm doing everything I can to improve my writing :). Thank you all for your reviews! (If you find any spellings that you can't stand, please let me know, it'll help me a lot)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for your comments :). Thank you Akari for your review! It means a lot to me :)**

* * *

Ganondorf was looking at the commotion from the open doors of the castle. He was a proud man in his mid twenties, his short hair and anchor

beard were the color of rust; his reddish brown eyes seemed to have been painted with a tinge of blood, and his large, sturdy body gave him

a menacing appearance, as if he was the very embodiment of brutal force. He had a strong, commanding voice that could easily move an army

of a thousand men.

He had been waiting for this moment for years. _A portal tamer right in my front doors!_ He thought with a smirk. He could not fathom what on

earth a portal tamer was doing in enemy grounds, but he was sure to know when he questioned him. He saw his wolves chasing the invisible

intruder through the field. _You cannot hide from me_, he thought, laughing inwardly.

He could not then belief what had happened next: his wolves stopped at the command of Link. In shock, he looked up at the boy who seemed

as surprised as him, and rage distorted his already demoniacal features.

"You there!" he shouted at him, and the boy met his eyes fearfully "Come down here now!"

Link stole a quick glance at the field, hoping the kokiri children had a chance to escape. A sudden gust of cold wind blew his hair about his

face, and he could see that a storm was brewing in the distance. He silently hoped that that was not a bad premonition. He left his

room.

"What are you waiting for?" Ganondorf yelled at his wolves angrily "Bring the intruder to me!"

But the wolves did not move. _What kind of joke is this?_ He asked himself, his blood boiling in anger, and then a twinge of fear met

his heart. Could it be that the dormant power within the boy had awoken already? Could it be that he was stronger than he had first thought?

He had completely snatched the control of the three beasts from him with just one word. _This will not be_, he clenched his jaw in fury, _I will not _

_lose to a mere maggot!_

"Counselors!" He called out, and the three women appeared before him. "Prepare the Corus room."

"Don't you want us to look for the intruder?" Oris asked confused "besides, it's not the new moon yet."

He met her eyes with a glare, and she felt invisible chains tightening around her neck "do not question my orders." he warned her, his voice

trembling with rage.

"Yes, my lord, forgive me," she said with a small voice, afraid of his temperament. She felt the chains loosening, and the three women quickly

retreated to obey his command and returned to the castle.

"Anytime he loses his temper, he makes unreasonable demands," May, the woman with the red braided hair, sighed.

"What are we going to do? The potion is not ready yet, it requires a full month to produce the desire effects." Oris asked.

"We'll just have to give him a larger dose," Lune answered "the effects will not lasts as long as normally, but it'll be enough to snatch more of

his remaining energies."

"He's almost there, isn't it?" Oris said thoughtfully "The boy will die soon."

"Yes," May agreed "and Ganondorf will finally become king." _After all this time_, she thought, clenching her fists, _after all this time we'll be  
_

_free at last._

In the meantime, Saria and Mihn had climbed a nearby uneven rock wall and they hid behind a stone that had a strange design of an eye on

it.

"That's the wolf Prince?" Mihn asked in a whisper, pointing at the cruel looking man.

"Don't look at him" Saria warned, afraid he would feel their eyes on him. She didn't dare to ask Mihn to make a portal, not knowing if he

was capable of stopping them before they could go through it; he reeked the same power as Link. _Who are these people?_ she thought

troubled, _how come we have never heard of them?_

They saw Link going out of the castle and kneeling behind the prince with his face facing the ground, as it was required of him.

"You called, my lord?" he asked, keeping his voice monotone. He could feel his knees trembling, but refused to show the terror he felt from the

bigger man in front of him.

The prince turned toward him, and Link felt his glare on him as if it was a heavy cloak covering him; with each step he took toward him the

ground trembled slightly. Ganondorf grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him up close to his face "What did you do?!" He growled, his voice as

low as thunder.

"I didn't do anything," Link replied, his shoulders tense, forcing himself to meet the prince's enraged eyes.

"Why did you tell them to stop?" Ganondorf shook him with force, demanding an answer. "Why did my wolves obey you?"

"They-they didn't! I couldn't have done it! They must have stopped on their on will!"

Ganondorf laughed hard at that. "Stop on their own will? Don't you know, boy, that they don't have a will? They are mere puppets I can control

because their spirits are bonded to me."

Link's eyes widened and Ganondorf realized too late that he had said too much.

"Do you know the intruder?" He asked sternly.

"No!" Link quickly replied.

"Then why did you tell my wolves to stop?"

"I-I don't know!"

Ganondorf wanted nothing more than to end the boy's life right there and then, but at the thought his hands started burning and he

felt a strange, unpleasant prickling sensation down his spine. He quickly let go of him and all pain ceased.

"A spell for a spell," he mumbled somberly, looking at the rash on his hands. He turned his eyes to Link. "Go to the Corus room!" He ordered him

"and don't let me find you anywhere else."

When Link left, the wolf prince then turned to the fifty soldiers who were returning from their fruitless mission.

"Get rid of them," he ordered the one at the head of the procession, pointing at the three wolves "they're of no use to me now."

Link did not go to the Corus room. He hid behind a pillar, grabbing his head that was pounding painfully as if someone was constantly hitting

him with an iron hammer.

_A spell for a spell_, the prince had said. For some reason the words burned in his mind. He had heard that before... but when? And what did

that mean?

He dropped to his knees, the pain in his head was now unbearable. He cradled his forehead in his hands and groaned. Blurry images kept

coming to his mind, saturating him with things he couldn't understand.

Memories?

Was that why his head pained him? Was something preventing him from remembering his past? Images kept coming, making no sense of his

reality.

A woman's smile. A promise. A child's scream.

And a voice, a familiar and yet strange voice that kept echoing in his mind: _You can't go there! You can't go to the Corus room!_

"What _is_ in the Corus room?" he asked himself. The very name of the place filled him with inexplicable horror. But what else could he do? He

couldn't hope to disobey the prince's orders and escape the castle, could he?

"I need to find them," he whispered, thinking of the kokiri children. "I need to find them and tell them to leave." He couldn't believe that he had

actually asked them to come. How could he have been so stupid? He couldn't endanger five people who had nothing to do with him just

because of the desperation he felt.

"Get a hold of yourself," he murmured, and with a great effort he shifted his focus from the blurry images that invaded his mind to the

Kokiri children. The pain in his head started to diminish.

"But how can I save them?" he wondered, feeling completely useless.

"Link?"

He looked up to find a girl younger than him by about a year standing before him. She had long, reddish hair and kind blue eyes that gazed at

him with concern. She was holding a basket filled of hay cubes for the horses, and at the sight of it an idea sparked in Link's mind.

"Malon, I need your help!" he said to her with renewed determination.

Saria and Mihn were still sitting on the rock wall, staring at the activities going on below them. The soldiers were looking for them, waving their

arms around frantically as if hoping they would hit by chance the invisible intruder. They all looked skeptically at the idea of there being an

invisible person somewhere in the field, but none dared question their prince's orders. If the situation wasn't serious, Saria might have laugh

at the ridiculous sight of them, but she knew that their lives were on the line.

_What to do?_ She thought nervously. _At this rate we'll get caught!_

Suddenly, her nose caught a strange scent in in the atmosphere and she shortly realized what it was: there was smoke in the air. She looked up and saw a

column of smoke rising from one of the corners of the castle. It was quickly getting thicker and darker as the time passed by.

"The stables!" a soldier yelled, pointing at the smoke "The stables are burning!"

And then all hell broke out. There was the sound of screams, of a building collapsing and of the thudding of hundreds of horses' hooves, and

then the animals themselves appeared, pouring out of the castle from every door they could break through, desperately trying to escape the

danger. Servants followed the beasts, trying not to get thrashed by them, and the soldiers looked at the chaos confused at to what to do.

"You fools!" The prince called out to the servants with his mighty voice "Get back inside and quell the fire!"

"We can't! It's spreading fast, it already consumed the servants' quarters!" A skinny man answered nervously.

"Go back! All of you! Or I'll have you all hang by the end of the week!"

In the midst of the disturbance, Saria suddenly caught sight of a blond haired boy. He was looking around him as if trying to find something...

or someone.

"Link!" Saria called out as loudly as she dared. He must have felt her eyes on him, for he turned to her direction.

His lips mouthed one single word: _leave_. And then Ganondorf struck him down.

Mihn winced as the boy met the ground, unconscious.

"Mihn make a portal now!" Saria said urgently.

"But-"

"We can't help him! There's nothing we can do!"

Ganondorf yelled something and one of his counselors, the black haired one, appeared and dragged Link into the castle. He then turned to the

direction Link had been looking at and narrowed his eyes.

"Now Mihn!" Saria yelled, close to hysteria.

Torn between her fear and her worry for the boy, Mihn lifted her right arm and brought it straight down, creating a portal. Saria took her in her

arms and threw herself into the portal, and the tear in the air closed before the wolf prince could have even given an order. He clenched his fists furiously.


	6. Chapter 6

"Darn it Mihn, you didn't do it right!"

They were standing in a spacious room with row after row of thick, marble columns. The room was dark with a grayish blue tinge to it, it had

no windows, its walls had strange ancient symbols carved into them and the tall, dark ceiling made it look endless. For some reason it had

taken them longer than normally to get to the other side of the portal; Saria remembered her terror, thinking that the wolf prince had

somehow managed to do something to it, and when they finally succeeded in getting to the other side, they found themselves in yet

another unknown place.

"I-I'm sorry," Mihn mumbled. She could still feel her heart thumping in her throat. "I don't know what happened."

"I'll tell you what happened! You weren't thinking of home," Saria met the girl's hurtful eyes and regretted her harsh words. The calm she had

always been able to master seemed to elude her. She had never felt so tense before. "I guess it was to be expected, it's not your fault." She

sighed, a pitiful attempt to calm herself.

"Where are we?" Mihn asked, staring at the columns with an awed apprehension.

"You answer that, you brought us here." Saria scanned the room, it was more like a hall than a room, extending from end to end. She turned

around and peered into the shadows that seemed to swallow the other side. Something was there.

She walked towards it, trying to ignore the queasy feeling that was starting to settle at the pit of her stomach. Shivers jolted through her with

every step she took, was something hiding in there? She stopped cold, her breath caught in her throat. Those were not shadows, they were

dark fumes enclosing a person.

Saria's eyes widened, and for a moment she stood frozen in place, dread crawling into her heart and every cell in her body quivering.

"Mihn!" She yelled in panic, she turned around and ran to the little girl, who was studying the symbols on the walls with wonder. She shook

her "We have to go! we have to leave this place now!"

"W-What's wrong?" Mihn asked, surprised at the over-the-edge tone in Saria's voice.

Saria looked over her shoulder, her heart racing, and realized that the fumes were slowly disappearing, becoming more concentrated around

the body, as if they were being absorbed by it.

"What is it?" Mihn asked, and glanced around Saria. She couldn't see anything but shadows, and then, as she peered harder, she realized

what Saria had seen. She had a moment of vertigo, as if the room had suddenly lurched beneath her feet, and then she pushed Saria away

and ran toward it.

"Mihn! Stop!" Saria nearly screamed. She started to run after her, but stumbled and fell. In her state of panic she couldn't stand up, her arms

and legs seemed to be glued to the cold, granite floor, and all she could do was to look at Mihn helplessly, with tears of frustration falling from

her eyes.

Link was there, at the end of the room, sitting on a chair made of thick stone with his wrists tied down on its arms. His head hung down, dark

circles rimmed his closed eyes, and his face looked as paled as a winter sky. An open jar had been set on the floor beside him, it was releasing

the dark fumes that encased him like a cocoon. As the fumes thinned around him, a fading green light illuminated his skin, giving him a

sickly appearance.

Mihn stopped a few feet from the sight, and nervously wrung her hands together as she waited for the fumes to completely disappear. When

there was finally no trace of them she approached him, ignoring the pleads from Saria to stop.

She saw his chest rising deeply and slowly, as if he was sleep. She felt the pulse on his neck: strong and unfaltering. His skin was warm

against her touch despite his pale color.

She released a relieved sight, calming her thundering heart. Link was alive, those fumes were not poisonous. She turned around and met

Saria's alarmed eyes.

"It's alright, Saria, he's alright." she said with a shaky smile.

Saria slowly stood up. She walked towards her with her head down, her knees trembling slightly, and folded her arms around her.

"Don't ever do that again," she whispered, and swallowed away the tightness in her throat, the panic and the fear. She had truly believed

that the fumes could have ended their lives, and for her there was nothing worst than a silent death without struggles. But if they were not poisonous, what

were they for then?

"Saria," Mihn said, her voice muffled against Saria's clothes "Let's take him with us, to Kokiri village."

Saria let go of her abruptly and stared at her as if she had just said that trees could fly. Part of her wanted to reject the idea immediately;

taking him with them meant taking responsibility for what was happening in Hyrule, and she knew that magic, very powerful magic, was the

source of the problems going on in there. Surely no one would blame them if they refused to help. And yet...

She glanced at Link, at how he looked as if his life was hanging by a thread, and remembered the vivid blue in his eyes, the plead in his

expression, and the desperation in his voice when he told them to leave. She released a rattled breath, knowing that she was going into

deeper waters than she was willing to swim.

"Help me untie him," She finally said and Mihn broke into a wide smile.

They tried pulling the ropes from his wrists, but the more force they used, the tighter the ropes got. A weak moan escaped Link's lips.

"Link? Link are you awake?"

He remained unresponsive. Mihn sighed, growing frustrated at their futile effort, when they suddenly heard the sound of doors opening; Saria

grabbed her arm and they quickly hid behind the stone chair.

May and Oris were making their way toward Link, their steps echoing throughout the room. May was carrying a red jar similar to the one sitting

on the floor, but it was closed with a cork and vibrated slightly as its content mixed together. She looked at Link, at the fading green light that

illuminated his skin, and remembered how at first it had been a bright, beautiful light, its green the color of grass sprinkled with dew. This was

tangible truth that his energies were fading. A small smile graced her thin lips, and she glanced at the towering ancient columns, the same columns

that had witnessed his birth. _Here is your chosen prince_, she thought to them in mockery,_ see how you have failed to protect him!_

The same place that had served as a sanctuary for him and his mother would become his place of judgment. The irony of it amused her.

She carried the jar almost tenderly, for it was the key to her salvation; she knelt in front of Link, and set it beside the other one. She would finally be free, free

from her parents' absurd mistake, free from the past that chained her. Free from the grasp that Ganondorf had on her spirit.

She removed the cork covering the jar, and was expecting to see the second set of dark fumes consuming his body when the jar suddenly

exploded, sending her backwards. She laid on the floor, fighting her exasperation, staring at the dark fumes spreading towards the eternal

ceiling, moving slowly as a lost breeze.

"What-what happened?" she heard Oris asking. Oris, always so clueless, serving Ganondorf as a lost puppy. She was sick and tired of it all.

She slowly stood up and brushed her clothes. She had some cuts on her arms and face were the broken pieces of the jar had brushed her

skin. "It's obvious, isn't it? A double portion is harmful for his body and the Bronus seal won't let us do anything to him that would cause him

death."

She glanced again at the towering columns, always silent, always cold, always towering. If only she could blow up the sacred place...

"I still don't really understand how the Bronus seal works," Oris continued, oblivious of the growing anger in the older woman "didn't

Ganondorf altered it?"

May ignored her for a moment. She felt as if the whole place was laughing at her, once again taking her salvation from the palms of her hands. Her fists

clenched, her heart was slamming itself furiously against her chest, as if demanding freedom, her whole body felt antsy. She felt tears threatening to spill

over her hard, green eyes, but she refused to show her vulnerability.

She lunged for Link, putting her hands around his neck, and tried to squeeze the life out of him, but her hands started burning and her

strength failed her. She let go of him. She took a dagger hidden within her corset and tried to pierce his chest, to puncture his beating heart,

but when the dagger was a few inches from its target, the blade was bent by an unknown force and the handle melted in her

hand. She dropped the now useless weapon.

She turned to Oris who was staring at her with wide eyes "Now do you understand?" She asked, her voice failing to reflect the storm brewing

inside of her.

The doors opened again with a slam and Ganondorf appeared, followed by Lune who was carrying a golden harp. He walked toward them

with a self-assure step.

"My lord," May bowed slightly to him to show her respect "we couldn't administer a double potion."

He stopped were he was and stood in silence, his body rigid, his eyes fierce. She could see his mind working, looking for someone to blame,

but the one to blame had met his maker long time ago.

"Will the spell still work?" He asked, his voice low and flat.

For a moment her mouth seemed not to work. "Yes," she finally said firmly, knowing it was not good to show any doubt "but not for too long."

"Proceed, Lune," he ordered.

Lune set her harp on the floor and knelt down. Closing her dark eyes, she started playing it gracefully with long, slender fingers. It was a

beautiful and strange melody, a forbidden melody, a melody that dug the darkest secrets of ancient times; the sound of it echoed

throughout the room, distorting the music until it sounded as if the columns themselves were singing a wordless song. It brought goose

bumps to Saria's skin and the queasy feeling at the pit of her stomach grew. Mihn covered her ears.

The green light around Link's body intensified with the melody. The pearl on his brow began to shine with a blinding white light. Both lights

fused together as if if battling which one would consume his body. May and Oris moved away from him.

Link was waking up. Where was he? He could feel that he was sitting on an uncomfortable, hard chair, his wrists tied down on its arms. What

had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was he being on the field, looking for the kokiri children. He was sure they had seen him

telling them to leave.

He tried to lift his head, but for some reason he couldn't move, he couldn't even open his eyes. What was going on? He could hear a harp

being played, and the sound of it vibrated ominously in his body.

Suddenly, an excruciating pain like one he had never experienced before befell him in every limb. It felt as if every muscle, every bone, was

being torn apart, elongated to the point of breakage. He wanted to scream, but no sound left his unmoving lips. His blood traveled cold

through his veins as the shearing waves of pain continued. Something deep inside him gripped him fiercely and shook the foundations of his

very existence.

And then, whatever was holding him motionless lifted and a sight escaped his parted, dried lips. He was breathing hard, his lungs felt as if

they were on fire, but at least the pain was receding. Slowly, he lifted his head and opened his eyes, he saw the wolf prince with his counselors looking at him

from the other end of the room. The Corus room...he knew now that's where he was.

"What have you done to me?" he asked tensely, trying to suppress the urge to defy the man he hated and feared the most. His voice sounded

wrong to his ears: rough and deeper than it normally was.

"Don't you know?" Ganondorf answered, his tone taunting "This happens to you every month, you should be able to remember."

Link looked down at his body and his eyes widened. His body was taller, older, but for some reason this did not shock him as it should, and he

knew that Ganondorf was telling the truth: this was not the first time they had done this to him. He felt within himself, and knew that his magic

was stronger too, could he use it within the castle? The cords tying him down were suddenly consumed by a fire that did not hurt him, freeing

him, but for some reason leaving him more exhausted than he was. So he could use his power after all, but this did not surprise him either. All

of this had already happened before.

He stood up and staggered slightly, unaccustomed to his older body.

"What do you want from me?" he asked. His blood was pounding so fiercely that his head felt light and he grabbed the chair for support. A

battle was raging within himself as the memories were fighting again to resurface, but this time there was no fear, no pain. "Why have you

done this?"

"The destroy you," the man answered simply.

A small laugh escaped Link's lips, he couldn't help it, the statement was simply ludicrous. "And you had to make me older to do that?" He

shook his head as the torrent of blurry memories overwhelmed his mind, confusing him. "Why didn't you simply kill me in my younger body? Or

is your sense of morality so high that you couldn't kill a child?" his sardonic tone surprised him. What was wrong with him? Never before had

he dared to speak thus to him.

There was no answer this time, and he met Ganondorf's eyes again. Those eyes, so full of vile rage, stared deep into his soul and an impulse

to shiver almost cracked his fragile composure. He knew that he had seen those eyes ever since he had been born.

He shut his own, willing his past to come back to him, and the boy he had been for the past days disappeared as the memories became

clearer and clearer.

_A woman's smile._ That had been his mother. She was a tall, slender woman, with soft skin as white as milk and a gentle gaze that took in

strangers for friends. Her smooth blond hair reached halfway down her back and her voice called out to him with all the love a mother can muster.

Fondness filled his heart as the long forgotten image came back to him.

_A promise._ She had made him promise to leave the castle as soon as she was gone. He remembered his childish confusion: where was she

going? Wasn't she going to take him with her? Didn't the people need her? She couldn't leave, the king had just died and she was the queen,

she couldn't leave the kingdom to its whims.

_A child's scream_. He remembered seeing her body on the cold floor, her arms were extended as if she was embracing the darkness of the

skies that stretched before her.

There were no stars in those skies, no moon to witness her unjustified death.

He must have been six... seven years old at the time. There was a man in front of them, a man who gazed down at her dead body with eyes

gleaming in the darkness. The wind of the night picked up around them and flung dust toward his grim face, the metallic smell of blood reached his

nose.

Their eyes locked.

The man had a sword at his side, a sword he said he had been keeping for this moment. He unsheathe it slowly as if it was some sort of ritual,

and Link saw his own terrified expression reflected on its steel surface. He knew that sword, he knew the symbol of the king carved on its golden

handle.

Here was a man he had known all of his life, a man he had always admired, a man who was about to end his existence. He would die by his

father's sword in his brother's hand.

He came back to the present. He was gripping the chair with force, wishing he could contradict reality, refusing to face the truth. But there are

some things no one can escape.

He looked up at the wolf prince, at his eyes gleaming in the semi-darkness, the same eyes he had promised to flee from.

"You are my brother," he whispered, letting the revelation wash over him, as if someone had tossed a bucket of cold water onto his body.

* * *

**I had a lot of troubles writing this chapter, so if some sentences dont make any sense, please let me know, I'll try to change them. Thank you so much for your reviews! They encourage me to keep writing :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you Lady Fai and Guest for your reviews! Here's chapter seven, enjoy :)**

* * *

He came back to the present. He was gripping the chair with force, wishing he could contradict reality, refusing to face the truth. But there are some things no

one can escape.

He looked up at the wolf prince, at his eyes that were gleaming in the darkness, a gleam he had promised to flee from.

"You are my brother," he whispered, letting the revelation wash over him as if someone had tossed a bucket of cold water onto his body.

"Half brother, actually," Ganondorf replied "I wouldn't call that woman my mother."

"You killed her," Link said, still whispering, as if not saying it out loud would make it less real. "How could you?" He frowned as he thought about it. He should

be dead too, how was he still alive? As far as he could remember, Ganondorf had put a sword against his neck. From then on his memories became a foggy

nonsense.

A spell for a spell. The answer laid in that simple phrase, and yet he seemed not to be able to unravel its meaning.

Ganondorf unsheathe his sword and swayed it around as if playfully. "Would you put a better fight than she did?"

Link didn't answer to his taunting tone. His blood boiled in hatred for a moment, but he forced himself to push his anger down, to answer the questions in his

mind. Why would Ganondorf go to such trouble to transform him? Why didn't he simply kill him before?

"The wench didn't even defend herself," Ganondorf continued, gaining a glare from the younger man "she simply looked at me feeling sorry for herself. I'm

sure you remembered her pitiful pleads, her weak reasoning, the ridiculous expression on her face."

Link's eyes started seeing red. His fingers pulled into a fist, he could feel the muscles in his shoulders tensing and adrenaline flowing through his system.

"You do remember, don't you?" Ganondorf asked him, relishing as Link's face became stormy "or shall I remind you exactly how she looked?" With a

swing of his sword, a transparent figure appeared before him. It was supposed to be an image of Link's mother, kneeling in front of her killer, but in an

attempt to strip her from her dignity, the wolf prince had changed her expression to that of utter despair, her eyes went huge, her pale body convulsed, high

pitched squealing noises left her mouth as if she was an injured animal.

Anger rose in Link like a dangerous wave ready to destroy a city. His clothes flapped with an nonexistent wind, the pearl on his brow shone faintly. Saria

startled as she felt her power being called from her again and the Corus room started trembling. Suddenly tree roots broke through the granite floor, becoming

thicker and stronger as they rose to the dark ceiling.

In the deepest part of her being, Saria could hear the cries of the trees that were being called to the battle, and she wanted to scream with them. This was

wrong, plants were not warriors, they were not supposed to be mixed with the hatred and the thirst for power from men; they were meant to feel the slow

flow of time, to stand still as the guardians of the seasons. Link was distorting them, changing them to be weapons, filling them with his hatred and giving them

a grotesque appearance. The roots darkened to the color of coal, thick and menacing thorns protruded on every inch of them.

She could feel her energies draining at an alarming speed. She wanted to scream his name, to demand that he stop, but her connection to him was so strong

that she could not open her mouth, she could do nothing but let him grab her power. Mihn looked at her worried, not understanding what was happening to

her.

The roots intertwined themselves to each other, becoming one, and moved like a fiery snake toward Ganondorf, who rapidly vanished form the spot and

appeared in another corner of the room. Link wanted to rip the smirk from his devilish face, to end his life once and for all, but no matter how hard he tried, the

wolf prince kept easily dodging his attacks.

Link's body was trembling, cold sweat covered his clammy brow, an alarm was going off at the end of his mind; but his fury blinded his reason and he ignored

the warning. He let his magic concentrate deep inside him, nourishing it with his anger, preparing himself to release a more deadly attack. And then he felt it...

a far away consciousness calling out to him, begging him to stop, and he realized to his utter horror that the stream of power leaving him didn't come from

himself, but from a voice that sounded awfully familiar.

And in that moment of hesitation he lost control, the power he had accumulate in those last few seconds burst forth around him, sending him flying against one

of the hard, cold columns. He saw from his side the stone chair exploding, and heard the unmistakable sound of screams.

He sat where he had fallen, his blood running cold in his veins, the color draining from his face. He looked at the wall where the pieces of the broken chair had

crashed, the Corus room becoming suddenly quiet as he processed what had happened.

It couldn't be, could it? He had told them to leave!

He turned to the wolf prince. Ganondorf was also looking at the wall, his mind working, and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips as the same realization met

his mind.

Link quickly stood up, ignoring the stings of pain spreading from his back to his entire body, and felt again within himself, calling forth his power, this time being

careful to differentiate between his pool of magic and the one of the green haired girl. However, it was impossible to do for both powers were intertwined so

tightly he didn't know how to separate them. He could feel it, the hold he had on her, and such hold scared him.

He had no other choice but to take the strength from his physical body to fuel the amount of magic he had to use. He ran to stand where the stone chair had

been, and a torrent of blue light left him. He hoped the kokiri children were still conscious so they could finally make an escape.

Ganondorf was surprised at the unexpected attack, and he had to raise a shield of his own to protect himself. He gritted his teeth in frustration, he was sure

the portal tamer was within his reach, and he wasn't going to let anyone interfere again. He pushed against the torrent of blue light that defied him as

Link tried with all his might to keep the power flowing.

He could feel himself fading. His sight was dimming, his body was shrinking, returning to its normal size, and he knew that his younger self could not stand the

amount of magic he was using. He would destroy himself.

He felt arms wrapping around his waist, pulling him toward the unknown, and darkness embraced him.

Mihn landed hard on the grass with Link on top of her. She heard voices around her and felt Link's heavy body been pulled off of her. Opening her eyes, she

was relieved to see the familiar fluttering of several panicky fairies flying around her, demanding answers to their questions. Maddie and Leah were also there,

giving her worried glances.

She had done it right this time.

When the chair exploded and sent them flying toward the wall, Saria had protected her by hugging her to her body. As they slammed against the wall, she

literary heard the bones in Saria's shoulder shattering, and then they collapsed on the floor in a cloud dust, both of them lucky that none of the broken pieces

of the chair had landed on them. She had slowly sat up, trying to clear the dizziness in her head that came from the shock, and realized that Saria's body

laid still on the floor. Blood was sliding down her face.

Her heart winced at the sight and she was filled with guilt knowing that she was responsible. For a moment she thought she would sit frozen in fear, but she

forced her mind to work and her limbs to move.

She couldn't be the one always been saved and protected. She knew she had to act, and quickly. She saw Link interceding the wolf prince with another attack

and took her chance.

Her hand trembled as she created the portal, praying to whoever might be listening to help her do it right. She hoisted Saria's heavy body and slid it toward it,

looking over her shoulder to have a last glance at Link.

She could tell he was struggling; his body kept shifting from his older version to his younger one, and the light around him became ever so pale. His legs

suddenly gave out and he fell on his knees, but his power kept streaming from his body.

Hoping she would forgive her for her rough treatment, she pulled Saria up, forcing her to stand up with a moan, and pushed her into the portal before turning

toward Link. She just couldn't leave him there, pushing fate to take his life right there and then.

She approached him with difficulty, for the wind around him made it hard to get close to him. She then slid her hands around his waist and pulled him

toward the portal. He lost consciousness as they stepped into it.

She was grateful to be back to her beloved village. She saw Saria's body being moved to a stretcher by several kokiris. Another group of kokiris with their

fairies surrounded Link's unconscious form, staring at him mistrustfully. She glanced up and met the familiar and reassuring eyes of the Deku tree. In his

presence, she felt her shoulders slacken and her heart slowing down its mad pace for the first time in hours.


	8. Chapter 8

The afternoon was quiet and warm, no wind stirred around the forest temple, but the perspiration beading on Saria's pale forehead had nothing to do with the

weather. Even after three days resting, she still felt slightly unstable on her feet, her head thudded painfully every time she bent down, but it was nothing

compared to the stinging pain in her right bandaged shoulder. She had sought out the calm of the forest temple to organize her thoughts, but now the

quietness of the sacred place was getting on her nerves. After the incident of a few days before, such peaceful atmosphere seemed wrong.

When she woke up after an entire day being asleep in bed, she and Mihn had shared with Mido, Leah and Maddie what had happened after they left them.

They had tried to answer most of the questions of the frantic fairies, and tried in vain to calm down the panicky kokiris who were not convinced that Link was

not dangerous. At the end, the kokiris had refused to move him to one of the small houses for fear he would turn out to be some sort of monster, and they had

to set a stretcher beside the Deku tree for Link to rest on.

"It's not like he looks so different from us!" Leah had snapped at them in a moment of impatience. Later that day, the other kokiris left them to have a long

talk with the Deku tree.

He explained to them that Mihn's new found power would always put her life in danger, not only because of powerful beings who would want such

power, but because whenever she opened a portal, something would always immediately connect her to the place to which she arrived, that is why she had

felt the strong yearning to help Link. He warned her to never, under any circumstance, use her power again.

He then remained in a solemn silence for a long time, as if debating with himself whether or not to continue speaking. Finally making up his mind, he talked

about the wolf prince's realm, and they were all surprised that he had already known about it. His voice, normally calm and controlled, sounded suddenly edgy,

almost tensed, as if he was forcing the words out his mouth. He explained that such realm had seen its birth thirty years ago when a man named Giors with

an unknown power came and conquered the land.

"This power able him to control the great wolves of the forest, and they soon found out that he could not only control the beasts but men as well. He had the

power to chain beings to his will. How he came to have such terrible magic is a mystery that is dangerous to unravel," he continued "and this man passed it on

to his firstborn and it has been so for the following generations. Only the firstborn receives the power." His grave eyes shifted for a moment to Link, who was

still unconscious. The tree's face remained impassive, but in the pace of a heartbeat Saria felt something from him, a strong emotion she had never thought him

capable of having. What was it? Hatred? The emotion disappeared as suddenly as it had sparked, and she wondered if she had simply imagined it.

"But Link is not a firstborn," Mihn replied, and then bit her lip as if chastising herself for having spoken thus to the great Deku tree. She lowered her voice,

casting her eyes to the ground "we heard him saying that he's the brother of the wolf prince. So how can he... have such powers?"

"Ah, little one," he sighed, his branches moving softly with the breeze "I don't think none of you should worry about this matter no more. Let us wait until the

boy wakes up, then we will talk further."

And that was it. Saria twirled a flower between her fingers as she thought of all of this. He had known about Link's world... why then had he never told them

about it before? There was something about his evasive answer that made her nervous, as if the great and wise Deku Tree was afraid of something. Was that

even possible?

She looked across the yard, and noticed a rock she had ignored at other times; it had the same strange design of an eye carved on it like the stone she had

seen at the wolf prince's castle. What was the stone for and who had set it there? Where the two places somehow connected? Before she could ask herself

more troubling questions, Nuit, her fairy, came flying across the yard directly to her face and started fluttering around her energetically.

"He's awake, Saria, he's awake!"

Saria quickly stood up from the tree stump where she had been sitting and immediately regretted it; her vision faded for a moment as the blood drained from

her face. She sat back down and took a few deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" Nuit asked her worried, her light illuminating her face.

"Yeah, I just have to take it easy," she stood up slowly this time.

For a moment the fairy remained in silence, flying in place in front of her. It was hard to tell what she was thinking because she couldn't exactly see her face.

"Next time you decide to go off to some weird place, bring me along. I'll protect you!" she finally said.

Saria smiled at the small fairy's zealous words and watched as she flew ahead muttering something about grave dangers and cinnamon bread. She bit

her lip to stop herself from laughing at how quickly Nuit's train of thought could change.

She followed the fairy across the yard, down two sets of steps and then they worked their way through a one-way maze, throwing deku seeds to the deku

scrubs she found on the way to stunt them. Normally, she would play her ocarina to calm them, but with her injured shoulder she couldn't even hold her

beloved instrument.

When they finally arrived to the kokiri forest and made their way toward the tunnel that would take them to the Deku tree, Saria noticed that some kokiris were

giving her nasty glances. She sighed, if they were still angry at her and Mihn for having brought a complete stranger to their otherwise unchanging world,

she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't regret Mihn's decision of saving Link's life.

"Saria! Saria wait!"

She looked over her shoulder at Leah and waited until she caught up with her.

"Three days sleeping and he finally decides to wake up, huh?" Leah said cheerfully "Now we can have more answers to our questions."

"I don't think it'll be that easy," Saria replied "I don't think Link will have all the answers and we don't know if he'll be willing to share them with us."

"How couldn't he? We saved his life! It's the least he could do."

Saria smiled at her friend's impatient tone.

Leah's face became suddenly serious and she slowed down her pace. "There's something that's been bothering me... more than the unanswered questions,"

she waved her hand to point at what surrounded them "why did we never wonder before if there was more than this?"

Saria frowned "What do you mean?"

"Think about it Saria, in all of our history, has a kokiri ever yearned to leave this place? Do any of your books have maps of places beyond ours? How come

there is no way to leave kokiri Forest? Apart from Mihn, of course." She looked at the mountains that surrounded the village "the mountains now look like walls

trying to keep us in."

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Leah was right. Her books did talk about races other than their own, it mentioned sorcerers,

plants and animals that she had never seen in kokiri forest, but none of the pages showed pictures or the names of the places where such beings belonged to.

Why had she never wondered about that?

"Suddenly I can't sit still anymore," Leah continued "it almost feels as if a spell has been broken."

"The great Deku tree is hiding something," Saria said, voicing her worry.

Leah nodded in agreement "and whatever he's hiding, it has a great deal to do with our race."

They continued walking in silence, each troubled about new questions that rose in their minds. When they arrived to the Deku tree, Mihn, Maddie and Mido

were already there, surrounding a drained looking Link. Birds flitted and sang from the high branches of the Deku tree, butterflies fluttered happily across the

grass, a gentle breeze stirred and swayed the flowers with a soothing rhythm, but such happy atmosphere seemed wrong with the growing tension both girls

could feel emanating from the group. Link was sitting up in the stretcher, his handsome pale face was deeply lined, reflecting his troubled thoughts. His dull

eyes met Saria's for a moment before quickly looking away.

"How are you feeling?" Saria asked him gently, suddenly truly realizing how close he had been from death. The grayish color of his skin, the bags under his

lifeless eyes, the shakiness of his hands... It all worried her. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Why did you bring me here?"

She was taken aback by the question. "What?" She said blankly.

He looked up at her again, and his lifeless eyes were suddenly ablaze with a flicker of anger."Why did you bring me here?"

She stood dumbfounded for a moment, surprised at the harshness in his tone. "What do you mean why?" she asked confused. "You were in

danger."

He snorted and shook his head slowly, thinking her simple answer was ironic. Didn't she realize what he had done to her? He clenched his fists, fighting off the

shakiness that came from deep within him. He was angry, angry at himself, and was trying hard to dampen the fear that haunted him. He couldn't stand the

thought that he had dragged them all to his nightmare. They were the ones in danger, not him. They were in danger of him.

"Why didn't you leave when I told you too?" He asked, his eyes hard, his voice so dry it made the youngest girl flinch "You should have never followed me in

the first place."

Sudden indignation and frustration arose in the group, even the fairies flew around him like angry bees. Wasn't he even grateful that they had saved his life?

He suddenly seemed like a completely different person from the boy they had met before.

"_What_ is your problem?" Leah suddenly said, the ill feelings of the group reflected in the angry frown on her face "if you haven't realized yet, Mihn and Saria

saved you. You do understand that, don't you? Let me remind you that _you_ asked _us _to help you, to check out what was wrong in your stupid land."

He winced at her words, and hated himself more for them. If only he could stand up and leave... but he knew that his strength was so frail his legs wouldn't

even be able to sustain his weight. He could barely sit up.

"Leave me," he said tersely, knowing he sounded like a complete jerk.

"But Link-"

"Let him be, Mihn," Mido interrupted her, without looking at her "there's no use talking to this guy," he scowled at him "you are very ungrateful, you know? I

guess it comes from being a mighty prince or whatever you are."

Link's eyes widened and he turned to him, but Mido was already walking away, followed slowly by the others. How much more did they know about him? When

they were gone, silence engulfed him, making the nightmares more vivid in his mind. This was bad... he couldn't sit there and do nothing, letting his thoughts

overwhelm him, but he didn't have another choice.

The Great Deku tree had witness the whole scene in silence. The boy didn't seem yet aware of his presence, and he could easily see the drainage he felt; he

knew that part of it was the result of that accursed jewel that rested on his brow. His young eyes looked old, ancient even; his posture, before upright and

regal, now was slumped as if he was an old man who had being carrying a heavy weight all of his life. He knew more than he was willing to tell about him, he

knew how he had come to have such powers, what the price for it was, but knowing did not mean he was willing to help him. He had endanger the kokiris,

and for that there was no forgiveness.

"I can't stay here," the boy whispered, looking even more worn out than seconds before.

"What will you do now, Link?"

The boy jumped at the calm sound of the deep voice, his body went tense and alert, as if preparing for an attack. Blue eyes fastened onto the dark ones of the

tree, and a sudden fear flowed on his pale, clammy face.

"I am the Great Deku tree," the large tree explained, secretly humored that he feared him "I am the guardian of the Kokiris."

Link's rigid form relaxed at the second sentence and then embarrassment flushed his face. He had been more than rude to the five kokiris in the very presence

of their protector. How could he explain himself? He had spoken to them rashly, without thinking, believing it was better they hate him now than continue

helping him, and he knew that the words had cut deep, especially for the smallest girl. For their own sake, he wished he had never met them, even if that

would have meant his own death.

Fear, relief, shame, helplessness. The Deku tree could read all these emotions flowing on the boy's face. Even his aura, though faint as it was, reflected them in

a pattern of gray colors. Seeing how he cared for the kokiris slightly appeased his anger toward him, but he implicitly refused to let go of his ill feelings toward

him. Caring for the boy would send the kokiris' into chaos. No. He had worked too hard to protect the small race, and he wasn't going to neglect them in a

moment of sympathy.

"I thank you that you are not willing to stay," he said, and meant it, "I, like you, wish Mihn and the others had never crossed paths with you."

Even though the ancient tree's demeanor was calm, Link could feel his ire directed at him, and with the ire he felt his strong sense of protection toward the

race he protected.

"I never meant-" he stopped and swallowed the rest of the sentence. There was nothing he could say that would take away his guilt, because the truth was

that he _had _meant to get their help, he had begged them to help him, he had put them in danger and he had almost killed Saria. The tree knew all this.

Defending himself would only bring him more shame.

"I will repeat my question, what will you do now?" the tree asked him, his deep voice digging into his very soul.

He sat in silence for a long time. He had no idea what to do. "I don't suppose you have the answers I seek, do you?" He finally asked, his tone

respectful.

Yes. He had the answers, probably not all of them but a great deal of them, but he refused to give them to him, to get involve with the boy who had the power

to destroy what he held dear.

"Even though I was able to remember a few things, I still can't see the whole truth, " Link continued, lowering his eyes, unaware of the Deku tree's feelings of

indifference toward him "I do know that Ganondorf, the Wolf Prince, made me remember memories of his choosing, to anger me. Why can't he simply kill me?

Why do I have powers I'm not supposed to have?"

"I will ask of you but one thing, Link," the Deku tree said "look for the answers elsewhere. You were born from a wish of hope and a wish of hatred, two

natures battle within yourself, therefore I won't take the risk of you putting the kokiris in danger."

Link nodded, understanding all too well what the ancient creature meant.

"I will ask you to leave, but not empty handed so it will not be said that I did not help you at all. Kokiri fairies are useful, they can sense things even the

strongest magician can't, you will need the help of one. There's one without a partner residing near the Forest Temple, if you are able to convince her to follow

you, then she''ll be yours, otherwise you'll leave this place alone. When you leave, look for the Great Fairy, she'll be able to answer your questions."

"Where's the Forest Temple? Who is the Great Fairy?" Link asked, trying to register in his mind all the information he was receiving, relieved to finally have a

plan. The tree closed his eyes for a moment and a small, thin plant grew beside Link. Instead of a flower blooming, a small red pebble popped out from its stem.

"Eat that," the tree directed "it will help you feel better. We shall talk again when you recover."

Link took the small pebble and ate it. It tasted sweet in his mouth, like honey, but with a slightly spicy aftertaste.

"Now sleep boy," the tree ordered him "when you next awake, your physical strength will be back."

* * *

**Uff! It took me a while to write this, and I start classes next week so it'll probably take me longer to write the next chapters, but I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thank you for the three lovely people that keep reviewing :) Thank you thank you thank you for your reviews! Oh, btw, I had no idea what to name Saria's fairy, so i wrote down the first word that popped into my mind. Is 'Nuit' ok? If you have a better name, let me know! I'm not too convinced Nuit is a good name for her :/  
**


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